The couple who own Priscilla’s Tea Room, in Sanderstead, are reopening a soft play café in The Whitgift Centre, in Croydon town centre.

Tim and Mandy Ashton have bought the soft play equipment from Project B, which used to own the soft play café on the ground floor, and will reopen it as Priscilla’s Play Café, hopefully in late August or early September.

Priscilla’s is a non-profit making business run for the community by Tim and Mandy, which they opened in what was a bus shelter and toilet block in Limpsfield Road opposite their home.

When Tim heard Project B was putting the soft play equipment up for sale he was keen to buy it and keep the café in The Whitgift Centre.

Tim and Mandy Ashton in Priscilla's Tea Room in Sanderstead

With shops already moving out of the Whitgift Centre ahead of its redevelopment into a Westfield shopping centre, which should start in September 2019, the couple didn’t want to see another empty unit.

They feel opening the soft play café will help keep people in the centre and in Croydon to do their shopping.

Tim said: “Regeneration is great but we can’t let Croydon crumble completely before regeneration.

“It might just encourage more mums and dads to come to Croydon on a weekend and know they can come here for a while. I think people are going further away to other shopping centres or just running into Croydon.